Wheelieb

A little bit about me. I like long walks on the beach, during the day cause I don’t rust sea turtles. My likes are…Oops wrong forum. My name is Branden and I guess you could say I started playing golf as an actual thing to do, and not just a drive a cart and kick some balls around while having a few cold ones, in 2020. I had to do something since team sports were banned on base. I’ve been in the Navy now for we will say 19 years. Married and no kids, although we have three dogs that act like kids.
 
Word to the wise, fine print is everything when you are reading about a product. I used to be one of those that fell into the category of “word of mouth so I’ll go buy it” people. I used to not do my research on certain products if someone I knew glowed about it. This lead me down a few paths of wasted money on golf equipment that I should have done my research on. I can’t put a full price tag on the amount of golf balls from the Vice tour line I have donated to numerous wooded areas, lakes, creeks, and ponds. I probably could if I went back and checked my bank account with buying them, but that’s not relevant at this time.
 
What got me to play the Vice Tour ball was the fact that Vice balls were becoming a huge hit with some of the guys I was starting to play golf with in Florida in 2020. I had never heard of them, but they swore up and down that they were far better than any other ball out there. Since I was new to playing I decided it was a good deal to start buying them since they were cheaper and they used them all the time. I believe I spent about 113 dollars on Vice’s website to order 5 dozen due to the fact they were not available in any store at the time. I felt like that was a steal for that many balls and waited until they came in. Their KIL (Keep In Line) line seemed like a great added piece as well, except I learned that I rarely ever used it to line my putts up with. By the end of a 3 month timeframe with them I only had maybe 6 left and chalked it up to just not being good at the time. Those 6 seemed to have lasted at least another 3 months and I had bought some Bridgestone e12 matte yellow golf balls. Not the best ball to use for me and that’s a whole different paragraph. By this time I started seeing the Vice Tour in Walmart so I didn’t need to order them offline. This continued up until recently after I had moved up to Virginia.
 
Noticing I was getting better and better and not losing as many balls I kept buying them. They were cheap and seemed to work well. However, there was a flaw in my thought process. While continuing to play these balls and getting better, I was noticing that when I would hit into greens I wasn’t getting a lot of spin like some of the other guys I was playing with in my league were getting with theirs. This is when I went on a deep dive of doing a little bit of research and found that the Vice Tour were surlyn cover balls. Well this lead me down a few holes of rabbit chasing and found that the surlyn cover do go a little further, and spin a little less. Now this is not a big deal for most as spin with wedges normally is pretty decent, and approach shots don’t normally roll out well past the pin who use these. I was finding that I wasn’t getting the benefits of shorter putts, so I worked on my approach shots and my wedge game to get better spin. Insanity ensued. I kept buying them expecting different results and saw my average putting distance on approach shots move maybe an inch to the better. Still believing that this was all a ploy I just continued working on my approach shots.
 
Well luck would have it that I played in a charity scramble and I one of the guys in my group had some Wilson Triad balls. Knowing that they weren’t on the same price level as Titleist Prov1’s I asked if I could pay him for a sleeve of balls. Him being a great friend said no worries and handed me a sleeve. Now Normally I’m good for at least 1 or 2 balls lost on the front 9 and about 1 on the back 9. We played the front 9 and I didn’t lose a single one. On top of that we used 4 of my shots that landed on the green because they stopped way faster than what I had previously been used to. When we got to the back 9, my confidence was beaming. Had the longest drive out of our group and I was the one with the most shots taken on the green. Hole 10 I teed it up and let it fly. Beautiful draw and lost it over the trees. Now normally this isn’t a problem if it was a dog leg left. But that was not the case here. This was a dog leg right and I just lost a ball into the woods to never be found by us. My next shot, because my hops and dreams were crushed, went all of 20 yards. In all I lost 2 balls on the back 9 and only 2 of my shots into the green were taken. To me that wasn’t bad. This lead me to buying a dozen myself.

With the why I wanted to test these out on the course reasons out of the way, on to the review of my round with the Wilson Triad balls.
 
I started out on the putting green and liked the way the Wilson felt off the face of my putter. I am becoming hard of hearing (seriously, I have hearing aids now and I’m only 38) so a lot of hits off the putter sound muted now when I used to hear a click. Saying you learn to live with it is cliché. I’ve just gotten used to the fact that certain sounds will not sound the same to me. But I can feel them off the clubface and they felt firm but soft at the same time. I’m one to not use any lines to line up my putt cause I always aim it to far in one direction and miss my putts even further than what I should. Since these don’t have a line I didn’t have to worry about it. I did notice that these didn’t jump off the face like the vice tour did. It took some getting used to as I had to make a slightly stronger stroke to get the ball to the hole than I did with the vice. With that out of the way, off to the first tee.
 
Seeing how it’s still “winter” in Virginia, getting out to play is tough. Cold temps are not my cup of tea to play in, but I do know a few people who don’t mind playing when Jack Frost is blowing his lungs out. I wanted to get out and test out the Wilson Triad as they were pretty much the “new” ball to me. I hadn’t played a real round of golf with them, so I felt I needed to do so while playing and keeping my own score. Call it the first tee jitters, call it what you want. Stepping up to that first tee box I felt like I was not where I should be. Knowing the first hole is a dog leg right I decided to play it safe with an iron off the tee to get it to the bend. Naturally, I hit a slight draw and wound up on the furthest part of the fairway on the bend from the green. Great start, to the round. Seeing how I had 180 in I hit my 7 iron in and wound up just short. Perfect, I get to see how chipping would go. That was the thought as I bladed it across the green. Thankfully it wasn’t hard enough to go into the rough and wound up on the fringe. 2 Putt bogey and we were off. The second hole was a par 5 so I knew I could get after it, I smashed it down with a slight fade and wound up in the rough on the right side. Not content with unknowing how well it went, I hit one of the Vice Tour Balls to Compare to the Wilson. I was a little surprised that the Vice went maybe a yard or two further, but it was in the fairway. With it also being a little overly wet, I figured that may have been the reason. And since no one was behind me I grabbed the Vice and put it where I hit the Wilson. Since it was a par 5 I figured I’d go for the green with both and naturally came up short with both. This time the Wilson was a tad closer. Now it came down to chipping. I hit the Vice and it rolled to about 10 feet past the hole. If this test was ever going to give a good judge of what I could expect with this Wilson,  this would be the time. I chipped up on to the green and it didn’t roll past the hole. It bounced twice and rolled to about 5 feet. Decided to do a putting contest and found that using no line to line my ball up I was able to make a birdie with the Wilson. Using the KIL Line on the Vice, I hit it on the line and rolled end over end. I just had it aimed to far right. I decided to finish the front 9 without attempting to do a side by side comparison in order to keep pace of play up in case someone was coming up behind me.
 
Hole 5 came up and there is a little pond short left of the green. Feeling confident in my new found ball, I grabbed my 7 iron and teed it up. The saying “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take” would have been an acceptable thing to say if I were to have skipped the hole. Instead, I bring the pond up because I chunked my shot that I never even gave the green a chance on this par 3. I took my drop and pitched it up to about 20-25 feet. Lost confidence and tripled that hole. Lost a ball, felt the golf demons approaching fast and felt like the wheels were about to just completely get lost even on the golf cart. I finished the front 9 with only entering my score. That is a whole other topic that can be broached at a different time.
 
The Back 9 came and hole 10 is a fairly straight hole. Nothing to really get in the way except a fairway bunker down the right side. Not a problem for me as I’ve been drawing the ball so far. This hole I would like to say was no different, I did miss the fairway bunker but I hooked the ball into the woods on the left. Ball number two was lost. I re-teed and still missed the bunker but this time I wound up in the left rough. Most people would be bummed about this, but I am one to be excited. I get to see how my Wilson is going to perform out of the rough. I took my 9 iron out since I was 150 out and I know I can hit 155-160 with it. To my surprise I came up short. Not problem since I get to chip again and see if this round has been a fluke on the front 9 with the stopping ability I had seen with the Wilson. Chipped it to 10 feet for a 2 putt double. Hole 11 I hit my tee shot with my 7 wood and was flabbergasted that it didn’t go as far as it normally would. Not close really at all. I had flushed it too, so it didn’t make any sense. I took out my 8 iron and flushed it and was short again. Started to wonder if I was taking the whole slow is smooth and smooth is fast way to serious. Chipped up close to the pin without it rolling past for a makeable par. Onto hole 12, with trees on the right and a small creek to far for me to get. I hit my driver and the theme of not going right was still in play here. What was in play were the trees on the left that I pulled my 3 ball into that I’m pretty sure some birds got mad at me. I don’t speak in bird tongues so I couldn’t tell you what they were saying. Re-teed and because I was scared the demons were with me I hit a bomb of 190 yards with my driver. That’s fine, I have 180 something in to the green. I take out my 7 and I’m short. I thought I had landed in the creek up a head, but I had made it over. Awesome, I get to chip again. This time I got backspin. Lag putt to 3 feet in for a 7.

I was starting to feel like maybe this ball just wasn’t going to be for me with how many times I was coming up short on shots I know I can hit with my irons. Pondering my life choices hole 15 came up, and I remembered a video I had watched about golf balls acting when cold and when hot. I felt like I was a fool. I hit my tee shot to the rough on the right and had 150 in. instead of using my 9, I took my 8 and on the green. Finally, a green hit for a birdie look again and the ball didn’t roll crazy past the pin. 8 feet well struck putt, the demons were gone. Hole 16 came up and it is a par 5. Everything was great, until I hit my second shot into the bunker. That’s a problem as I am not the greatest bunker player. But feeling confident I took my swing and landed in the bunker still. At least I was closer. Hit again and I was out. 2 putt bogey, The golf gods giveth and they taketh. Hole 17 is a straight shot, with a creek short and downhill of the green. Hit my tee shot right to the rough and had 145 in. I took my 9 iron out and hit, I was maybe 8 feet short, but that’s what happens when you decide to slightly chunk your shot. That was on me this time. Took my 9 iron to chip with and my putter, already resigned myself to the fact I was getting a par at best. The ball came off the club face and instead of popping off like I was used to with the Vice ball, it sort of checked and rolled….into the cup for a chip in birdie. I was ecstatic. Breaming with all the confidence in the world going into the last hole, a par 3, I was on my way to a great finish. That was until I decided to hit it short right. I chipped up and it stopped on a dime some 40 feet from the pin. No problem, I’ll finish with at worst a bogey. As I finished my round putting a 6 on the card, I saw that I had shot an 86. I’m used to seeing a 90 plus. This gave me confidence again. I feel like these Wilson Triad balls may be on to something for me. Below are my scores out of 10 for each category for them.

Driving  8/10
Approach 5/10 (Mostly due to me being a dumb dumb and not taking extra club)
Chipping  9/10
Putting  8/10
I wanted to get the review up, I may not be able to get out on Friday, but wanted to add pics. 

Congrats on the win this week! @Dawg061

Good chat though, albeit interrupted by the wife calling. I did see the odyssey putter and that thing did not look pleasant at all. 

I got beat to it…nooooooooo….hahahaha

Can you expand on this? 

Definitely looking forward to signing up to be a tester. Going to be excited whether I’m selected or not to read the reviews of the ones doing the testing.

Can you expand on this? 

Can you expand on this? 

Exputt - Official MGS Forum Review by cnosil
Intro
For the last few weeks, I have been spending time most evenings and weekend afternoons; while watching golf, rolling putts on the ExPutt putting simulator.   When I get out to the course to play or practice the evaluate the simulation against golf course greens.  One of the nice aspects of this product is that it can be utilized in a variety of ways; someone looking to improve their putting can use it as a training aid and others can used it a family activity/game.  The multiuse aspect of the product means that while it may be great for one person it could be lacking for another.  As part of this review, I’ll try to address the various potential uses and how well I think it meets those needs and help answer whether this is a serious tool for golfers or just a way to pass some time.
Let’s see if you can PURRFECT your putting with the ExPutt Simulator

Quality of components (9 out of 10 points)
My first impressions where that the packaging was good; although I found it odd that there were two product boxes one for the mat and one for the camera and accessories.  All the components were well secured withing the package minimizing the possibility for damaged or broken components.  The quality of the components is typical for items produced in this day and age.  The plastic components are fairly thin but should be durable. The mat is of high quality, had no issues with it lying flat. 
  
Ease of use (7 out of 10 points)
Setup of the product is easy as there are very few components to assemble.  Essentially unroll the mat, connect a power and video cable and power it on. 
 In general, the ExPutt is intuitive but reading the manual is highly recommended as there are some details in the manual that provide some clarifications.   Unfortunately, some of the product features are not very well explained in the manual and require some trial and error such as the analysis capability which is included as a subset of the practice mode. 
 Basic Characteristics (28 out of 30  points)
Instead of duplicating information I have already provided for each mode of the software I am going to provide links to the review of each aspect of the product.
Intro
Setup
Practice
Challenge mode
Play 9
For years the struggle I have had with putting practice is how to practice longer putts without the need to go to the golf course.  While there are putting mats that are 20+ feet long, I don’t have room in my house to actually lay one out or have a long aisle like @GolfSpy_MPR and Kirke to roll balls to a PuttOut. 
 
When I first setup the ExPutt, I did see the same patterns that I saw on the golf course; meaning longer putts were woefully short.  Because I wanted to improve my performance and what I was seeing with the product I wanted to practice putting because I knew I would see on course benefits.  One average I spend roughly 1-2 hours per day rolling putts.  This is more time than my pre-ExPutt practice time simply because there is more variety provided than I could do with gates and yardsticks.  
As the only golfer in my house the Play 9 mode probably won’t get used beyond this review.   If your family has multiple golfers, this mode would be a great activity.   I do have an issue with this game mode and the other reviewers seem to agree.   Putts that are inside 5 feet seem to require slower ball speed to make the putt than is required on the course.   I did find that this impacted my on-course performance as I became cautious on short putts and missed quite a few.  I rolled some putts on the practice green and found that the capture speed on a real course was higher than the software allowed.
Challenge mode should in theory build upon practice mode by adding the need to read greens.  This really doesn’t pan out in reality for me.  The software utilizes a contour map to help indicated the slopes on the green.  Since I don’t use green books or read greens using inches as a measure to determine if the hole is above or below my current position.   I get it, but it just doesn't translate to my on course usage.   The left image below is a commercial contour map and the right image is what is presented in the ExPutt simulator.

For me, practice mode is where I spend pretty much all of my time.  By using this mode, you have the ability to practice distance control and start line.   From a training aspect you can do both blocked and random practice and track analyze your performance over time by using the analysis mode.  I have even performed ladder drills where you try to fit as many balls as possible between 2 distances (utilizing the previous distance number and setting the distance 50 feet).  Note:  when doing the ladder drill, you should ignore the post practice metrics.  

One of the early complaints I had about the system was about lighting and the issues I was having with the software reading the path and face angle for the putter.    I have since learned that lighting isn’t about ambient lighting but lighting directly on the mat.  Since I now understand the lighting needs, I am seeing better performance and don’t need to use the provided face stickers (or masking tape) for the putter.
 On-Course Performance (10 out of 15 points)
Let’s get to the main thing people want to know.  Does using the ExPutt help me on the course.  The basic aspects someone should practice associated with putting are:
Setup – This would include everything associated with setup to include posture, stance, and ball position. Pace – Can you control the distance the ball rolls Start line – Give a particular pace, you need to roll the ball on your intended line Green Reading – Determining the path the ball will roll along.  Practice mode will assist with 2 of the 4 aspects.  My hope was that Challenge or Play mode would assist with green reading, but the moving raindrops don’t relate to on course performance and not everyone uses contour maps. 
 Feel vs. Mechanical approaches.  I know many people will look at the product and say that they are feel players and with the 2D presentation and the inability to look at the hole they won’t get any benefit.  Perhaps I don’t totally understand the “feel” mentality, but to develop a feel approach, you have to do some type of calibration to convert what you see to the appropriate feel.   When I am using the product, I am looking at the putt distance and training the feel for how the putter needs to move.  Even golfers that rely on feel need to work on stroke length and tempo which results in a distance; if the distance is 25’; reproduce that stroke that rolls the ball 25’.
 What I am seeing on the course it that my putts are finishing closer to the hole which is what I was the improvement I was hoping to realize from using the product.  When I get to the course, I put tees at 5, 10, 20,30,40, and 50 feet and practice rolling the ball to those tees.  After using the ExPutt my ability to roll the ball those distance feels very natural and I don’t need to hit multiple putts to recall the feel; basically, distance control is becoming more automatic. 
 I have actually learned a bit by using the product and changed some of my putting routine.   As part of my path to improving my game, I am tracking putt distances and walking off the length for each putt.  This change had directly mapped to what I have been practicing with the ExPutt.  Also reading the discussion within this thread has resulted in my switching from establishing distance control based on ball speed and not putt length.  Although most of the greens I play are in the 9/10 stimp range, by using ball speed I can have a chart that will enable me to use the right stroke length for any putt or green (see @gavinski91 review for the chart he put together). 

 One feature I wish the software provided is the ability to slope the green left and right to be able to practice controlled
breaking putts.  This would ideally use % of slope to reflect how the aimpoint system works.  Also, adding back the recommended path would be a nice touch; similar to the Putt View system.

 
Miscellaneous (15 out of 15 points)
I can’t speak to what other people will experience, but the team behind the ExPutt is committed to the product and developing products in this market.  The team shipped the product to us within days of our being selected and reached out to us via email and phone to ensure we had our questions answered. Based on some of the things they discussed about future plans I know I would potentially purchase other products based on the quality of this product. 
When I read through the application forum, there were lots of comments about the possibility of using the product for putter fitting.  In short, yes, you could use this for very basic putter fitting, but it would be the equivalent of using one of the $200 launch monitors instead of a Trackman or GC Quad.   While definitely a step above something like the iPing putting app, this product isn’t on par with product like Blast or Capto due to the lack of captured data.  For the guy who wants to do at home comparisons, this is a great tool. 
Continue to use or Stash in the Closet? (20 out of 20 points)
For those old enough to remember, lets answer the $64,000

Does this product go in my closet or will I keep using it?   The simple answer is that it will definitely be a mainstay in my putting practice; It is just too easy to setup and roll a few putts.  The product hits the mark and is the perfect training aid to work on speed control.  The one hope I have is that my wife lets me keep the second TV on the den. 😊
This product fits in a great niche and there really isn’t anything in the price range that compares.  If you simply look at the ability to practice putts up to 50 feet on a variety of green speeds in your living room you won’t find anything better.   30-foot Birdie Ball greens cost $310 and 26-foot Wellputt greens are $460.  In my opinion nothing matches up for someone looking to practice long putts and simulate different green speeds.   If you have a golfing family, it provides features to provide whole family entertainment. 
Conclusion
Alright, if you jumped straight here, you missed a lot of solid background info but decided it was too much to read and just want the final answer.  Simply put if you play golf you probably average about 18.5 feet for your first putt.  How do you practice those long putts at home; do you have a 20, 30, or 50-foot hallway?   Are you going to buy a super long putting mat?  If you want to practice lag putting and possibly dive into some putting related metric then the ExPutt is your answer.  Whether you play a local muni or a perfectly manicured country club, you can practice using the correct green speed and putts up to 50 feet.  This product cannot be compared to a SAM Puttlab, Quintic, Capto, or even the low-cost Blast motion device; they attach to the putter and capture information about how the putter moves.   The ExPutt provides barebones information that help you practice putting especially distance control. 
I am typically skeptical about putting training aids but after having had an opportunity to actually using the aid, I would definitely purchase the product.  During the review the ExPutt team shared that they are looking at producing follow on products and based on the quality of this aid, I am already saving some money to purchase.   
If Siskel and Ebert were reviewing this product they would rate 2 thumbs up.     

 
Final Score: (89 out of 100 points)
 

I agree, I found that since joining MGS that the community has a lot to offer on golf topics but also some general life conversations that might relate to you. When you do have a chance to test makes the experience that much better, during your testing and even after you can interact with anyone and everyone. Like @GolfSpy_APH said pick a few topics or reviews to follow comment ask questions and especially HAVE FUN and enjoy. 

Can you expand on this? 

Having recently reviewed and started following this thread, I believe the staff and others have laid out an equitable and truly transparent approach to selection of testers. Honest, fair, and to the point while spelling out ways to optimize your chances as well as ways to ensure that you will not be selected.
Please explain your reasoning behind the comment "who we may know in the business" should be a pertinent selection criteria? Without some context here this leaves me with the impression of presumptuous entitlement...

I think it also can help to start small, doing a good review/test for a ball or glove is an easy way to prove yourself.  Another option is to do an “unofficial” review.
After doing a test, I have a whole new respect for the time and effort that goes into these.
The MGS team does a great job selecting the group for each test.

Quantity of posts has little to no bearing on who is chosen for testing. A far more important determinant would be the ability to follow simple instructions. Such as, if you want to be considered for testing, you need a profile pic. Absent that, there is nothing on our end to consider.

Outstanding the read and see you go ta new driver

Can you expand on this? 

Good Sunday morning to all!
Another rainy morning here and looks to continue throughout the day so no golf activities...☹️ Waiting to see how Monday works out and may have to schedule a sim session to get a little practice in. Finally bought a box of the 2024 Titleist AVX balls to try out so a sim test before this week's round might just be the ticket.
Watch a little WMPO later and then on to the Super Bowl this evening. Got no dog in the hunt but being born at Presidio feel obligated to root for the 9'er's. Hope it is a good game no matter the outcome.
Everyone make the best of the day and if you have the opportunity for some golf, I wish you nothing but fairways and greens! ⛳

Happy Sunday all you Spies!
Well, yesterday's upgrade was a resounding success. Only took about 7 hours for the entire upgrade, where the previous 2 took 2 full days. Plus, to this point we haven't seen any negative fallout. But I don't want to get ahead of myself until tomorrow morning when people actually get back to the office/campus for the week.
So I'm checking out of the hotel a day early a day early and heading home. It'll be nice to be back in my own bed tonight to get a full night's rest compared to the last 3 nights partial rests.
Everyone have a wonderful Sunday!!

How is who you know important? 
This is all about getting a wide variety of ppl to test products to be more relatable to more golfers.
Who you know truly doesn't make any difference to us. If anything it could cause various bias that could make a review lean one way or another.

I'm realizing more and more that people will drive even more crazy when the weather is worse. I'll take being alive at work safe. Hopefully we don't have a long day since it is Sunday of the drill weekend, not gonna put my eggs in one basket though. No sick pup during the night, so that was a plus. Now to work on my list of things I have to do in order to retire next year. Didn't realize that process was as extensive as it is.

I got the tour striker plane mate training aid, I just have to get more consistent using it. I feel like it has helped me more than not though.

I got the tour striker plane mate training aid, I just have to get more consistent using it. I feel like it has helped me more than not though.

If we are doing clothes, I don't know if I have seen it before so throwing it out there. How about LinkSoul? I just found them and they look like they have pretty good clothing. If they were already used for a member review, then I will take my mulligan.

I'm realizing more and more that people will drive even more crazy when the weather is worse. I'll take being alive at work safe. Hopefully we don't have a long day since it is Sunday of the drill weekend, not gonna put my eggs in one basket though. No sick pup during the night, so that was a plus. Now to work on my list of things I have to do in order to retire next year. Didn't realize that process was as extensive as it is.

Outstanding the read and see you go ta new driver